…As the kids grow up, though, the bespectacled nerds among them can improve their standing as they trade smarts for protection. Nearer and nearer draws the point of entry into an adult world where muscle power must yield to mental might and social adroitness. Our nerds may even find some girls fall for their bookish charms; and to crown the years of oppression now past, the macrocephalic youths (these types tend to be male for some reason) realize their formerly abusive schoolmates now look to them for advice and guidance.

That’s a tough moment. There is an important role for intellectuals to play in a politically developing society. Can they ever stand up to the challenge? Some of the bright kids will become academics; others will go into investment banking — but is it occupation that matters?